Thursday
Best Bet
MLB Playoffs: St.Louis at N.Y. Mets, NLCSgame2
5:15 p.m., FOX
SPORTS EDITOR:JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Kevin Calame Emerald
(Left to right) Head coach Garreth MacDonald, Tyler Shaf
far, Josh Hardin and teammates are set to begin season.
The tragic
death of Russ
Atteridge in
February has
unified the
Oregon hockey
team as it
embarks on a
season of
remembrance
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, and
the Lane County Ice Arena
rink is filled with the unmis
takable sounds of hockey.
Skates sliding all around on
the ice. Pucks banging against
the board. The whistle of the
coach signaling when to
switch from drill to drill.
From the outside, it looks
like any other hockey team
practicing for its upcoming
season opener this Friday
night at 7:30.
But when you look closer,
you begin to see that there’s
much more to this story.
You see senior forward and
team captain Tyler Shaffar
skating down the right side of
the rink and slapping the puck
directly toward the net.
You see senior goalie Josh
Hardin deflecting Shaffar’s
shot with his shin pad.
While there is no couch to
sit on nor a psychologist to
talk to, what you are seeing is
therapy at its purest.
For Hardin, Shaffer and sev
en other teammates who
played for the Oregon club
hockey team last year, this is
their time of healing.
Time of comfort. Time of to
getherness. This is the time
they’ve been waiting for.
Because when they’re on
the ice playing the game they
love, it helps ease the emo
tional pain still present from
that fateful day back in Febru
ary.
A day when tragedy struck
and changed the lives of a
group of young men forever.
Feb. 17 began as an exciting
day for the Oregon hockey
team. The Ducks had qualified
for their fourth straight post
season appearance and were
headed to the Pac-8 Champi
onships down in Los Angeles,
Calif.
While their 10-12-1 record
at the time showed their in
consistencies, the players
were pumped because they
knew that anything could hap
pen in the playoffs. What they
didn’t know, however, was
that they would not play a sin
gle game over the weekend.
Oregon arrived into El Se
gundo, Calif., that night at
11:30 p.m. and checked into
the Hilton Garden Hotel. Ac
cording to Hardin, about eight
players then gathered in a ho
tel room.
“It was not a rowdy party
like everyone thinks it was,”
Hardin said. “It was just a few
teammates hanging out the
night before a big game, eating
some pizza, drinking a couple
of beers and watching a
movie. We were not down
there to party.”
One player, however, took it
a little too far.
Russ Atteridge, a sopho
more forward from Amherst,
Mass., mixed together the
painkillers Valium and Darvo
cet with alcohol. The result
was deadly.
After falling asleep later that
night on the floor, Atteridge re
Turn to Hockey, page 8A
Pre-NCAA meet will feature
largest field of runners ever
■ There are 450 runners expected to
compete in each Division 1 race at the
pre-NCAA meet in Ames, Iowa
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
A 6,000-meter course sounds like a long
way, but when you pack 450 runners from 64
teams onto it, things can get a little crowded.
The numerous runners will be on hand
Saturday for the pre-NCAA meet at the Iowa
State cross-country course in Ames, Iowa.
“The meet will hold the greatest number
of runners in a single race ever,” said Tom
Heinonen, Oregon women’s coach. “If any
course can handle 450-some runners, [the
ISU course] can.”
Seventy-two of the 316 Division 1 schools
that sponsor cross country will attend the
meet, which is a preview of the NCAA Cham
pionship meet on November 25.
To put the size of the meet into perspective,
the Roy Griak Invitational, one of the larger
meets in the country, only fielded 240 runners.
PR watch
Oregon’s trip to the Willamette Open last
weekend was a successful one for new per
sonal bests. Four Duck women recorded new
marks in the 5,000-meter race at Salem’s
Bush Pasture Park.
Senior Katie Crabb broke the 18-minute
barrier for only the second time in her career,
running in 17 minutes, 30 seconds over the
3.1 mile course — good enough for third
place overall.
Freshman Laura Harmon also broke the
18-minute mark, running a time of 17:58. Her
time is one minute and 51 seconds faster than
her time at the Pier Point Invitational in Port
land on September 9.
Sophomore Carrie Zografos also bettered
her 5K time at Salem. The transfer from Col
orado saw a 51 second drop in her time of
18:32.
But the biggest personal best came from
freshman Annette Mosey. After putting in a
disappointing effort at Pier Point (21st in
Turn to Cross country, page 9A
Oregon volleyball sets up
different offensive lineup
■The volleyball team will move
away from two-setter system to start
and are still hoping for their first
Pac-10 win
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Throughout the first half of the season,
the Oregon volleyball team’s 4-2 Flex of
fensive scheme proved to be a pesky tactic
to defend for the Ducks’ opponents.
In fact, prior to the Sept. 30 match at
USC, the No. 1 ranked Trojans changed
their entire defense to counter the Ducks’
quick attack.
“The system is awesome; it causes so
much trouble,” senior outside hitter Amy
Banducci said. “It’s a huge compliment to
us when the other team changes their en
tire defense to stop our offense.”
Despite the problems it causes for oppo
nents, head coach Carl Ferreira and the
Ducks (7-8 overall, 0- 7 Pacific-10) have yet
to pick up a conference victory with it.
Thus, the first-year coach is looking in an
other direction — sort of.
Instead of starting matches with the two
setter offense, Ferreira said he plans to start
freshman Alisha Stevens, a 6-foot-2-inch
outside hitter, to add some physicality to
the lineup. Then, after the match begins,
Ferreira said he will substitute junior Julie
Gerlach in and go back to the two-setter
system.
“We’re going to make sure we give both
formations equal opportunities,” Ferreira
said. “We’ve always had the flexibility to
do both.”
A real killer
Outside hitter Monique Tobbagi’s team
leading 3.65 kills per game is seventh best
in the Pac-10. The 6-foot junior from San
Jose, Calif., has recorded double-digit kills
in nine matches this year and has hit bet
ter than .400 in three of the last five
Turn to Volleyball, page 9A